The Magician's Assitant
by hogwartswonderland
Summary: "You do understand the function of the magician's assistant, do you?" "Yeah, she's there to distract them as he set's up the trick." In this case, the magician's assistant is Marion; whom was contracted by the eye along with her boyfriend, Jack Wilder, and her father, Merritt McKinney, in order to act as the manager of the 4 Horseman and make sure this act runs smoothly.
1. Chapter 1

**The Magician's Assistant**

**By Hogwartswonderland**

**Summary: "You do understand the function of the magician's assistant, don't you?" "Yeah. She's there to distract them as he sets up the trick." In this case, the magician's assistant is Marion McKinney; whom was contracted by the Eye alongside her longtime boyfriend, Jack Wilder, and her father, Merritt McKinney. As the pseudo 'manager' of the Four Horsemen, Marion is tasked with assisting with the three act magic trick from behind the scenes. Too bad Thaddeus Bradley doesn't know about her, because otherwise he could debunk the enigma that is known as the magician's assistant.**

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><p><span>New York City<span>

Wednesday

"Marion, you need to get up." Marion groaned and rolled over in bed, clutching the warm comforter closer to her semi-sleeping form.

"I'm sleeping, Jack. Go away," she mumbled into the pillow. Jack let out a booming laugh before he ripped the covers away from his grumpy girlfriend, crawled into bed with her, and began peppering her face and neck with kisses.

"No can do, babe," he said in-between kisses. "You have work in 20 minutes and it is your first day as manager."

Marion shot up upon hearing the last sentence, almost hitting Jack in the process. She had been working at the same movie theatre since she was 15 years old, and now at 19, she had finally worked her way up to being a manager. With that in mind, Marion jumped out of bed, leaving Jack to laugh at her sudden burst of action, and quickly began changing into her uniform; which consisted of khaki's, black flats, and a plain black polo shirt. Once she was fully dressed, Marion grabbed her purse, keys to the building, and dark blue blazer, gave Jack a kiss on the cheek, and started to leave.

"Don't get into trouble!" she called out from over her shoulder just before walking out the door.

"Trouble is my middle name!" Marion heard Jack retort just as the door closed. She laughed and continued on her way to work, which was only three blocks away. It was a nice day out and it didn't take long for Marion to arrive.

As she approached the entrance, Marion noticed that there no customers, but the three scheduled employees were lounging around, most likely waiting for her to let them in. Kellie, a lanky girl of 16, was leaning on the brick wall and texting. Next to her, Brett- who was a friend of Jack's- was talking to Bobby, an elderly man who worked there to earn a little extra cash in order to fix up his classic mustang. Brett was the first to notice her and immediately rallied Kellie and Bobby into a cheer.

"Congratulations, Miss. Manager!" Brett called out. Marion smiled at the crew. The closeness among the employees is one of the main reasons why she stayed with the theatre for so long.

"Thanks guys." She replied as she unlocked the door to let them in. "Are you all having a good morning?" They all said 'yes' in unison and promptly began performing tasks to get ready for the business day. Marion let them get to it, only feeling a slight pang of nostalgia as she had to remind herself that she had different morning duties, and unlocked the door to the office which is where the money and other important information is kept. She placed her belongings on the spinney chair, glanced over the note left by her boss, and then began working.

The universe had a funny sense of humor because Marion's first day managing ended up being very busy. They had just received Frozen, the most popular children's movie at the time, and the lobby was filled with parents and grandparents with their children that were no older than 5. Basically, it was as if Marion had walked into a nightmare. So by 6 p.m., which was the end of her shift, Marion was quick to hand over the reins to Jarod, another manager that was only a few years older than Marion. As soon as Jarod took over, Marion gathered up her belongings and dashed out of the theatre, eager to go home to Jack and cuddle up on the couch and watch a move (that preferably was _not_ Frozen).

Thinking about dinner and Jack, Marion reached to the back pocket of her pants to retrieve her phone in order to call Jack to see what he wanted to eat. She grabbed her phone, but realized that there was something else in her pocket as well. Puzzled, Marion reached back and in her hand was what looked like a tarot card, which she had no memory of picking up at all that day- let alone ever in her life. She quickly surveyed her surroundings to look for anyone suspicious but in New York, it was hard to tell. Seeing as there was no possible way to figure out who slipped it to her, Marion decided to examine the card closer.

On one side there is a picture of a winged angel holding two chalices. The angel is clothed in a simple white robe and she has one foot on land and the other in water. Underneath the picture say 'The Temperance'. Marion then flipped the card to the other side, which was not as ornate as its counterpart. The only picture was of a well drawn eye with this written below it:

March 29

4:44 PM

45 East Evan St.

The moment she finished examining the card, Marion's hands began to tremble. Unfortunately, she was unable to say that she had seen this before. Her father, who she dislikes mentioning for certain reasons, was a passionate lover of the magical arts and Marion remembers sifting through his magical 'equipment' and seeing tarot cards before. They didn't look like this, but she had seen cards with the Temperance on them before. If she remembered correctly, her father told her that it stood for balance, moderation, patience, and purpose. Knowing her father would never do something like this (he isn't exactly the most subtle), Marion wondered who gave her the tarot card and why did they give her the Temperance?

Suddenly Marion's phone began to blare _I lived_ by One Republic and on the screen, a picture of Jack holding their kitten, Miracle, popped up. Marion took a quick moment to collect herself before pressing the green accept button.

"Hey, babe!" Jack greeted his girlfriend, his voice filled with excitement.

"Hey, Jack," Marion answered back calmly. "I was just about to call you. What's up?"

"The most amazing thing happened today! But I want to tell you at home. I was just wondering what the plan for food was?"

"That is exactly what I was going to ask you. Does Chinese sound good? I pass the shop on my way home."

"Sounds perfect. So how was your first day managing?"

"Hectic," Marion sighed. "We were overrun with kids because of that Forzen movie. I really can't wait to get home."

"I'm sorry it was rough, babe. How about I pick up your favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream while on my way home?"

Marion perked up at the suggestion. "Sounds perfect! Love you and see you at home," she said before hanging up and walking into the Chinese restaurant. It only took 15 minutes for her to get the food and only 5 more to reach the entrance of her building. She nodded hello to Leroy, the elderly doorman, and proceeded to walk the arduous 5 flight of stairs up to her apartment. When she walked in, she was greeted with a very passionate kiss by Jack, who had apparently set up a romantic setting on the small dining table.

"You must have really good news if you got me my favorite pink carnations," she commented as she placed the food on the table and say down.

"Very," Jack said enthusiastically as he sat down. All was silent for a moment as the couple ate their food. Then Jack reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a card, placed it on the table, and then slid it over to his girlfriend so she could get a closer look. What Marion saw took her by surprise. It was the same tarot card that she received as well. She hesitantly flipped the card over to see what the other side was, and saw that instead of having Temperance on it, his said Death. In that very moment Marion lost her appetite so she pushed her food away and looked at Jack worryingly.

"What's wrong, babe? This is good news! The Eye apparently wants me!"

Wordlessly, Marion takes out her own tarot card and hands it to him, allowing him to examine it curiously. "What do you think this means? I know you grew up around magic, but you don't actually practice it."

Marion shrugged. "I don't know exactly, but it seems like our best chance of finding out is to go to this place on Friday."

"I guess so," Jack agreed. He got up and walked over to his girlfriend's side, crouched down and took her hand into his. "Everything will be ok, Mare. Whatever this is, it won't take me away from you."

"But your card says Death, Jack! In magic, that can mean anything. You heard of Lionel Shrike, right?" Jack nodded his head. "He left behind his family to pursue a deadly trick he was no equipped for. My father ceased contact with me after his fall from fame to continue pursuing magic!"

"Hey," Jack said soothingly, pulling Marion into his arms. "I would never do that to you. You know that if it ever came down to it, I would give magic up to be with you."

Marion looked up to him and gives him a bright smile. "I know. And I will never ask you to. Why don't we forget about this for the time being and do something else? We might as well not dwell on it until we find out on Friday what is really going on."

Jack gave her a wide grin. "And what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Why don't you follow me and find out?" Marion called back, giving her boyfriend a coy smile as she walked towards their bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Magician's Assistant**

**By Hogwartswonderland**

**Summary: "You do understand the function of the magician's assistant, don't you?" "Yeah. She's there to distract them as he sets up the trick." In this case, the magician's assistant is Marion McKinney; whom was contracted by the Eye alongside her longtime boyfriend, Jack Wilder, and her father, Merritt McKinney. As the pseudo 'manager' of the Four Horsemen, Marion is tasked with assisting with the three act magic trick from behind the scenes. Too bad Thaddeus Bradley doesn't know about her, because otherwise he could debunk the enigma that is known as the magician's assistant. **

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><p>45 East Evan Street<p>

4:30 PM, March 29th

Hand-in-hand, Jack and Marion stared up at the ominous building. Jack looked at it with excitement and Marion with distress. Neither knew what they were going to find in the apartment and to be honest, Marion wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. Marion loves her boyfriend, and is supports his interest in magic completely, but magic has always seemed to make her life miserable. Just look at her non-existent relationship with her father.

She shook her head to push away the thoughts of her father then turns to her boyfriend. "Are you ready for this?"

"I am ready when you are, babe." Jack replied as he squeezed her hand. He obviously knew how much the calling card from the Eye was taking on her.

They have known each other since she was a freshman in high school, and he a junior. Mare's mother, Avalon, grew up in Brooklyn, and figured the best chance for Mare to get over her Dad choosing magic over his family was to move them to New York. Jack knew from the moment he saw her resisting his best friend (Brett's) charm that he was going to marry her someday. It took a while for her to say yes to a date (she knew of his interest in magic and that made her hesitant) but they haven't parted since. And that is saying a lot since it has been 6 years since then.

Together the pair entered the building and climbed up the stairs to their final destination. Jack was leading, obviously excited, while Marion lagged behind. As they crept closer, they heard voices and decided to wait to see what exactly was in store for them.

"J. Daniel Atlas, nice to meet you. Very nice. I know who you are and I just want to say, uh, that I am not interested in you doing your mentalism thing on us."

Upon hearing the name, Jack turned to his girlfriend with a sparkle in his eyes. Daniel Atlas was Jack's favorite magician and if he was here, then that meant that he received a card as well. Marion rolled her eyes and sighed, then gestured for her boyfriend to go ahead. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and made his move to go up, but froze when another voice spoke up.

"I am sensing that you are a control freak?" This voice was deeper than the first and had a hint of a country twang.

Jack turned towards his girlfriend and looked at her with worry. She just brushed him off, mouthing to him that she is ok and that she could handle it. "Go ahead. I will be with you in a minute, ok?"

Jack gives her a peck on the cheek and goes up the steps. "No way. J. Daniel Atlas? Dude, I have seen anything you have ever done. I mean, you are like- I idolize you." Marion heard him say. She grinned, finding her his excitement from meeting his idol adorable. Just hearing his voice gives her the strength to walk up rather than turning around and running away. She was 19, dammit. No longer was she the same 12 year old girl that would cry in her room at night because her Daddy forgot to come home for her birthday.

"Jack really does idolize you. He spent nearly 30 minutes talking about how amazing you are on our first date," said Marion as she walked to stand beside Jack, a fake smile plastered on her face. Atlas and the redheaded woman by his side, whom Marion remembered to be his former assistant turned solo act, Henley Reeves, looked at her with confusion. She didn't spare the other gentleman (not that Marion would call him that) a glance.

"Hey! You said that would never bring that up," said Jack with a teasing smile as he slipped his arm around her waist.

"A true fan. It's a pleasure to meet you," Atlas said as he offered his hand out to Jack. "Now, who are you?" he asked, turning to Marion.

"Marion?"

Marion tensed up when she heard her name. Now Atlas and Henley turned to him, curious how he knew the young woman who was now glaring at him.

"Hello, Dad. What a surprise to see you here," Marion droned, obviously unhappy to see him.

"Wait," called out Atlas. "You," he pointed to Marion's father, "are her" he then pointed to Marion, "father and she is obviously dating him?" he finished, pointing at Jack last.

"How astute of you Mr. Atlas. Maybe you could take some pointers from the 'great' Merritt McKinney over there and you can become a mentalist yourself," Marion said sarcastically. Atlas said nothing and glared at her in response.

"What are you doing here, Marion?" Merritt asked his daughter, obviously confused. "Did your boyfriend get a card or something?"

"Yeah," said Jack, butting into the conversation as he held his Death card up. "So did Mare." Marion showcased her Temperance card to show that it wasn't a lie. Merritt's eyes glance from it to her then back again with worry.

He last he remembered, she said she hated magic. Yet here she was, all grown up and with a boyfriend who obviously loved magic. It made him wonder that if her mind could be changed about magic, then could it be changed about him.

"The high priestess," Henley shared with the group, holding up her card as well.

"The lover," Atlas included obviously not one to be shown up. Of course, Henley ruined his moment for him by 'discreetly' coughing "3 minutes."

"The hermit." Marion almost snorted when she heard this. She knew that the hermit meant that a person was engaged in a period of soul searching and was looking to go in a different direction in their life. This was pretty laughable since her father's direction in life was to become rich. Marion didn't see that changing anytime soon.

"So are we waiting for someone?" Jack questioned. "Why-why are we waiting?"

"The doors locked," Henley, Atlas, and Merritt all responded in unison.

At that response, Marion glanced over at Jack and smirked. As much as he loved magic, he wasn't exactly the best, at least not yet. What he was already talented in was what some considered being criminal and nefarious activities. This is not to say that Marion approved of her boyfriend stealing (on occasions) as a pickpocket, or breaking and entering (ok, she has done that with him. But it was when they were teenagers and wanted a place to make out without getting caught).

"Oh, no. Nothing is ever locked," Jack declared as he removed himself from Marion in order to walk to the door. He crouched so that he was eye level with the doorknob and working his magic to unlock the door. It didn't take long before the door opened to show the group of 5 a dark and (extremely) dingy apartment.

Henley and Atlas led the group through the apartment, Atlas using his mini-flashlight to light the way. Merritt tried to work it so that he would bring up the rear with his daughter, but Jack claimed that spot. That left him stuck in the middle, listening as Marion mentioned to Jack how their apartment was so much better.

"Wow," Merritt remarked under his breath as he peered into the dirty bathroom. "And I thought my apartment was bad." Apparently he wasn't quite enough because Marion scoffed. "I am surprised you stay in one place long enough to even have an apartment. After all, you preferred traveling the country rather than being with your family."

"Someone is a little resentful," Atlas commented condescendingly. Henley elbowed him and whispered for him to be quite.

"It's cold in here," Jack commented quietly, trying not to say anything to Merritt. He knows that Marion could handle herself, but he has had a few words he has wanted to say to the older gentleman for years now.

"Your right, Jack. It's freezing in here," Marion agreed with her boyfriend.

"What's that?" Henley asked as they group walked into the open living room where a note and a white rose lay on the floor beside an odd pattern.

"I don't know." Atlas bent down and picked up the card.

"What's it say?"

"Now you don't."

Henley then picked up the rose and plopped it into a vase placed on a risen platform. "A rose by any other name," she quoted from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

"Would smell as sweet," Marion completed. The moment the rose was placed in the vase, wanted began to flow towards the odd pattern imbedded into the hardwood floor.

"Guys, what's happening?" Jack asked the others as he held Marion by the waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. No one answered back. By that point, the water had filled the image and it sunk into the floor, releasing smoke.

"Is that gas?" Marion asked her boyfriend bewilderedly.

"No. It's dry ice," Merritt replied as the dry ice began to encompass the entire room.

"What do you think this is all about?" Atlas questioned, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Henley who was entranced by it all.

"Wait," Merritt called out as he held his hand to his head and closed his eyes. Marion rolled her eyes as the rest of the group looked to him with expectation. There was no way her father could figure out what exactly was happening by using mentalism.

"I got nothing." Marion rolled her eyes at him. _Thanks for stating what I already knew_, she thought.

"Thank you, thank you for the delay." Said Atlas in his condescending (when wasn't he condescending?) tone.

"I was just trying to create a space for wisdom," Merritt retorted.

"So you were like Buddha, if he wasn't so enlightened."

"Oh, and you're like Jesus if he was arrogant and all his miracles were fake?"

"Now I see where you get your sarcasm from," Jack comments casually to Marion, who glares at him in return. "Do you want to sleep on the couch?"

"Danny, be honest," Henley said as she walked around, scoping the entire room. "Did you do this?"

"No," he said, most likely wishing he had. He then turned to Marion. "Did you?"

At this Marion scoffed. "I don't practice magic. So that is a big no."

"Well maybe then your boyfriend did it," he retorted as he turned to Jack.

"No, but I wish."

"Why didn't anyone ask me if I did it?"

The young adults in the room looked at one another as he made this comment and nearly started laughing. Well, Marion actually did but she easily masked it as a cough. To avoid answering the question, they all split up to continue exploring. Marion ghosted her hands over the walls to see if there were any hidden panels while J. Daniel began messing with the light switch just as Jack commented that the electricity was out.

"Why don't we check?" The older McKinney in the room then proceeded to reach up to the chandelier and screw the light bulbs in all the way. As soon as he did that, three projectors which were placed in different places in the apartment sprung to life.

The five convened to the middle of the room where the projectors came together to showcase what looked to be a 3-D set of blueprints, according to Henley. One image that stood out to Marion was the same picture of the eye that was on the tarot cards they all received.

"They are incredible."

"Who do you think did this?" Jack asked the rest of the group, turning towards his girlfriend who was looking at it all in wonder. It took a couple of years, but she has come to appreciate magic again.

"I don't know, but I really want to meet them," remarked Henley.

"I think," Marion butted in, entranced by it all, "It's a show."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Magician's Assistant**

**By Hogwartswonderland**

**Summary: "You do understand the function of the magician's assistant, don't you?" "Yeah. She's there to distract them as he sets up the trick." In this case, the magician's assistant is Marion McKinney; whom was contracted by the Eye alongside her longtime boyfriend, Jack Wilder, and her father, Merritt McKinney. As the pseudo 'manager' of the Four Horsemen, Marion is tasked with assisting with the three act magic trick from behind the scenes. Too bad Thaddeus Bradley doesn't know about her, because otherwise he could debunk the enigma that is known as the magician's assistant.**

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><p>45 East Evan Street<p>

5:28 PM, March 29th

Merritt, Atlas, Henley, and Jack redirected their attention from the display to Marion. Atlas and Merritt look surprised that Marion figured it out (if it were anyone but them two, Marion would offended, but it wasn't the case seeing as she could care less about them), while Henley and Jack look at her in fascination. Well, they were fascinated by the idea of a show.

"She's right," Henley agreed as she looked back at the blueprints.

"Well it tells us that the show is called the 4 Horsemen and it is obvious just who they are. So," he drawled as he turned to Marion, "why are you here?"

Jack and Marion glanced at each other now wondering the same thing. What did the Eye want with her? And how did she play into this? Suddenly the projectors shut down and the group's attention was turned to piece of paper that (magically) appeared on the ground. They all glanced at each other before Jack, who was closest to it, leaned down to pick it up. He opened it up and read the brief message that was written down:

_Every magician needs an Assistant_

Once again, they all turned towards Marion who was obviously baffled. The Eye had to be messing with her. Marion just finally became a manager at the theatre and discovered that she thrived with being in charge. There was no way she was going to work under someone like Daniel Atlas and her father. Mainly Atlas.

She took out her card again and looked at the angel. Remembering the meaning behind the card, one word stood out: balance. Suddenly everything from the note to her recruitment made sense. The Eye wanted Marion to balance out the act by handling everything behind the scenes so the horsemen could enchant the crowd and be the face of the act. She wasn't the traditional assistant in the sense that she would be up on stage in a skimpy costume while she was sawed in half. Obviously whoever orchestrated this noticed how well Marion worked under pressure and thrived on being in charge. Marion grinned at the realization. She foresaw a lot of problems with control freak Atlas in the future.

"Whoever put this scheme together doesn't mean an assistant in the traditional sense. I received the Temperance which means balance, patience, and purpose. I am meant to assist with everything else that doesn't have to do with magic, such as booking the venues and other backstage tasks. Think of it more as being a manager," Marion explained.

"Ha!" Atlas sneered. "I highly doubt you could be our manager. Especially when you're his," he jerks his thumb at the mentalist, "kid."

"Watch out Daniel, your over controlling side is peeking through," Marion teased Atlas to show that his hostility didn't offend her. She then turned serious. "You can't expect to handle everything yourself Atlas. There are things that you can't control from on stage and god knows you will never trust anyone else to handle things."

"Oh, and I should trust you?"

Jack, having enough of his idol putting down his girlfriend, stepped in between the two, glancing at the menacing facial expressions they each have on their face. "Woah there. I have known Mare since high school and I can tell you that she is the most efficient and qualified to handle this kind of thing. I admire you and all Atlas, but I think you are wrong to jump to conclusions like this about a person whom you know nothing about."

Henley, who had remained a bystander in this little argument, nodded in agreement. "You should listen to him- them- Danny. I know you like to control everything, but let's face it. None of us have done a show this big and elaborate before. We will need her help with the behind the scenes work whether you like it or not!"

Danny looked from Henley to Jack to Marion. He couldn't believe that they dared to gang up on him. He was more successful (Merritt doesn't count since he lost everything) than anyone here. If you asked him, they should be hanging on to his every word. But he could see that there was little chance of him winning this battle so he figured it best to cut his losses. He doesn't tell them that though. Rather, he turned away from them to look at the blue prints in detail.

"Well, as much as I love the idea of putting on this show, what are we supposed to do about our living situation?" Merritt asked the rest of the group despite looking pointedly at Marion. She notices but doesn't say anything.

"Wow," exclaimed Atlas. "The mentalist over here actually has a good point. I have my apartment in Chicago."

"And my show is in Los Angeles," Henley added. She then turns to Jack and Marion, interested in finding out more about the young couple. "What about you two? Where are you guys from?" Jack just smirks. "Here."

"Brooklyn, to be more specific," Marion included. "We have an apartment together so we don't have to worry about having a place to stay."

Merritt narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "You two are living together?" he asked patronizingly, obviously not approving of his young adult daughter living with a man he doesn't know.

Marion immediately whipped her head around to look at him. She could not believe that he was trying to act all fatherly now after all these years. "Yes, we are," she spoke sharply, her voice raising an octave out of anger. "And to be honest, it is none of your business."

"Uh, babe," Jack called out to his very livid girlfriend. "I don't think this is the time or place to argue about this."

"I think this is the perfect time and place to do this," Marion snapped just as her father told Jack to stay out of it. Jack held both hands up in the air to admit his defeat and slowly backed away. Henley followed his lead, eyeing the father and daughter with apprehension. As she went, she pulled Atlas with her. He was the last person that needed to be in the middle of that. Together, the trio went to explore the rest of the apartment.

"Actually, Marion," the senior McKinney said seriously. "It is my business. You are my daughter and only 19 years old. As your father, I protest you living with a boy at such a young age. Marion scoffed, crossed her arms, and stared down her father with her light green eyes.

"Oh contraire, you have absolutely no right or say over what I do with my life. I haven't seen you since I was 13 when you upped and left to join the circus that was in town as a 'clairvoyant'. You didn't even sign the divorce papers in person. You faxed them!"

"I only did that to pay the bills so that you and Ava wouldn't have to move."

"No," Marion argued. "You could have easily found another job- that had nothing to do with magic, mind you- and was closer to home _and_ could easily pay the bills. But no, you wouldn't except that your career as a magician was over."

"That isn't true. I only had my GED, Marion. There wasn't really much out there that would continue to pay the bills."

"You could have gotten more than one job! I overheard that Mom even said she would get another job to help out. As I said, you only cared about getting your magic career back."

"Marion," the mentalist said weakly, not knowing what to say. Marion didn't even hear him utter her name so she just kept on going.

"Also, you could have called, emailed, or for goodness sake, WRITTEN A DAMN LETTER! Yet it took a year for you to actually contact us and that was only to instruct mom that you couldn't actually sign the stupid divorce papers in person and would fax them to her." For a moment, Marion paused to take a good, long look at the man she had once called father.

Merritt McKinney was not the man she remembered as a child. At the age of 48, he had lost his shoulder length blonde hair (which Marion inherited) and was now almost completely bald. The hair he did have was unnoticeable because it was either a very light blonde, had turned grey, or was hidden by his large black fedora. Unlike her mother, Merritt had little to no laugh lines. The only visible sign that they may exist were the defined parenthesis framing his mouth. To be frank, the only real sign that he had aged was in the lack of light in his icy blue eyes. Marion only looked into them for a brief moment before quickly looking away.

"You know," Marion said quietly, her eyes downcast, "Mom hadn't given up on you coming back until you said you wouldn't come back to sign the divorce papers. The only reason she filed for divorce was because she thought it would force you to come back. You broke her heart when you did that. That is the only reason I will never forgive you."

"I never wanted to hurt you or your mother. I felt like a failure for losing everything and felt like I had to prove myself as man and provider. To be honest, my little rabbit, I am not good at anything else besides magic. I figured that it was my only way of providing for you and your mother. When I figured out that even magic was going bail me out from the mess I made, I became embarrassed and couldn't bear to face you and your mother. I was- and still am- a failure as a husband and father." After telling Marion the truth he kept bottled up for all these years, Merritt hung his head in shame and allowed a few tears to escape. It felt both satisfying and melancholy to finally say those things out loud.

All the anger Marion previously felt dissipated with his confession. Sometime Jack would come home and wouldn't talk to her, refuse to eat, and would look out at the city from the firescape. After a couple hours- normally after Marion had retired to bed- he would come in and curl up with her on the bed. Marion never said anything and often pretended to be asleep as Jack told Marion what he couldn't tell her when she was awake; that he felt like a failure.

As previously revealed, Jack would have to sometimes result to petty stealing to earn money. Despite graduating high school with slightly above average grades, Jack often found it hard to do menial jobs such as working in an office. He was more the hands on type but work was spotty at best. For example, he found work at a construction site but jobs like that only last a couple months and didn't have great benefits. So hearing a man that would normally take care of Marion say he felt like a failure was nothing new. How could she persecute her father for feeling like that when she didn't do that to her boyfriend?

"Oh Daddy," she muttered as she enveloped her father in a hug- the first one since she was 13. "All you needed to do was tell us that and we would have understood. Sometimes you just have to let others help you out. That is what family is all about, right?"

Merritt laughed and separated himself from his daughter. "When did you become so wise Little Rabbit?"

"I grew up, Dad. It comes with the territory. Technically speaking, you should be super wise since you're- what? 50?"

"Haha," the McKinney patriarch laughed drily. "Aren't you a comedian. So are we on the road to recovery now? Or do you still hate my guts?"

Marion tapped her forefinger on her chin to show that she was thinking about it. She then grins at him. "I guess I can forgive you." Marion the turns very serious. "But under no circumstance are you allowed to give Jack the 3rd degree, give him a hard time for anything just because we are dating, or try to use someone else to the two things previously mentioned." Merrit goes to open his mouth, most likely to protest, but Marion successfully cut him off before words could fall out of his mouth.

"And you are NOT- I repeat, Not- allowed to pull pranks of any kind on him. He already went through mom's approval test which is pretty brutal. He definitely doesn't need it from you, especially when we are all going to be working together. Understood?"

"Damn," muttered McKinney. " I was really looking forward to putting him though the nobody-shall-date-my-daughter-without-proving-worthy test! I had that perfected since before you turned one."

"I am serious, Dad."

"And I promise to follow your rules. Now, can I get another hug? I missed your hugs."

* * *

><p><span>3102 Newkirk Ave<span>

9:09 PM, March 29th

Later that night when Jack and Marion were in the safety of their apartment, Jack figured it was safe to bring up the conversation that happened between Marion and her father.

"So is everything alright between you and your dad?" Jack asked Marion as they cuddled on the couch with their Russian Blue kitten, Miracle. They decided to wind down after the busy and hectic day by having a movie night. Right now _The Avengers _was playing and they had just gotten to the part where Loki skewered Agent Coulson. Marion absolutely loved this movie and was deeply invested in the scene so it took a while for her to realize that Jack asked a question.

"Oh yeah, everything is alright now. We talked it out and I think our relationship is going to be able to be fixed."

"That's good," Jack commented. He was happy that she was finally able to have her father back in her life. She had mentioned that she was like his little shadow when she was younger and he really hoped their relationship could be repaired. From personal experience, a father is a irreplaceable person in any kids life. His own father died in a car accident when he was 16 (5 months after he met Marion) and he missed him to this day.

"So do you think we call all pull off this act?" Marion asked him, pressing pause on the movie to talk about what they were getting into. She knows that for the Horsemen, all they had to do would be worth it in order to join the Eye. But Marion was a magician and wasn't all that interested in being a part of a super-secret magic organization.

Jack just gives her a wide grin before giving her a searing kiss. "I think we are in for a wild adventure, babe."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey everybody! I just want to give a shout-out to all of those who added to their favorites and signed up for alerts. A special shout-out goes to all those that reviewed. A big thanks goes to **_**It's Me23, BaDWolF89, FaceOvBoe, and Guest! **_**I absolutely love it when readers send a review of what they thought so please don't forget to review! **

**In case you have never come across me in other fandoms (mainly the Avenger or overall Marvel Universe) I am an absolute troll at updating. I am a freshman in college and often get caught up in schoolwork or just life in general. This means that this may be the last chapter for the next couple weeks. Unless I feel like procrastinating while writing any one of my three research papers and decided to write the next chapter instead. For all of those college students that feel my pain, I wish you the best of luck. If you are in high school or younger, I hope you are enjoying school (trust me, you will actually miss it) ! **

**Until next time!**

**Megan Ashley**

**P.S. Ironically, the song **_**Stay with Me**_** by Sam Smith came on Spotify while I was writing the emotional forgiveness scene with Merritt and Marion. I figured it was so appropriate for that moment and I just had to tell you guys. Do you think it is a relevant song for the moment or no? Tell me your opinion below **


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